Chemicals seem all off - Now what

[Deb04]

We have a 3 week old pool and we just got our Taylor K- 2006 in the mail today. So, what is a girl to do but run out and test the water at 10:30 at night.

Anyway, the results imply that the chemistry is all off.

pH= 8
FC = 8
CC= .5
TA = 300
CH = 120
CYA = 30

Now what do I do? Whatever we should do, should we wait until it stops raining? It has been raining (downpours) for 5 days straight and more is in the forecast.

Is it safe to swim with the current test results. Saturday is supposed to be sunny for at least part of the day and we're having guests.

Thanks for your help.

 

[JohnT]

Nothing serious or urgent wrong.

The first thing to do is to lower the pH to about 7.0, but not all at once. Add a partial dose of the muriatic acid as recommended in http://www.poolcalculator.com and see how far it moves. Push it down and follow the Pool School advice here http://www.troublefreepool.com/category/pool-school/lowering total alkalinity on lowering TA. You don't have to be in a hurry, as it can be a several week process.

You probably want a little more CYA. 30ppm is down in the low end of the test range, and most people get good results at about 40ppm.

 

[frustratedpoolmom]

Deb, you have an SWG, so it's important to lower your TA. SWG's 'aerate' the water, causing PH to drift up, all the time. By lowering your TA, it should stabilize the PH.

See the articles in Pool School about recommend levels and water balance for an SWG.

Also, CYA for SWGs are recommended to be 60-80, so you should double check your manufacturer's recommendation so as to not void your warranty.....

 

[Deb04]

Thanks,

I read elsewhere on TFP that you should not use dry acid with a SWG. Is that accurate? If so, is it a big deal that we used less than a 1/4 of a 7 lb bottle of ph Minus before we read that?

 

[ktdave]

Thanks,

I read elsewhere on TFP that you should not use dry acid with a SWG. Is that accurate? If so, is it a big deal that we used less than a 1/4 of a 7 lb bottle of ph Minus before we read that?

That is correct and using that much for just a short period of time won't hurt anything.

 

[Deb04]

Why is the pH Minus a problem with the SWG. We bought some muriatic acid today and used it and that stuff is scary.

 

[JasonLion]

PH Minus can form sulfates in the water. Many SWG cell plates can be damaged by sulfates. This is not a problem if you just use a little PH Minus, but large quantities over time can develop a substantial sulfate level.